Spike moss (genus Selaginella), any member of the plant genus Selaginella, of the order Selaginellales, with more than 700 species of mossy, in some cases fernlike, perennials. They are widely distributed in all parts of the world, particularly in the tropics. Many are forest plants; some grow on trees, but others thrive in dry or seasonally dry areas. They bear scalelike leaves, either spirally arranged or in ranks of four, on trailing, climbing, or erect stems and branches. The spore-bearing leaves are similar to ordinary leaves but are clustered in spikes, or strobili.

Spike moss (Selaginella willenovii)

Walter Dawn

Life cycle of Selaginella, the only genus of spike moss.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Lesser club moss (S. selaginoides) is a small forest and bog-side plant in northern North America and Eurasia. Its branches trail along the ground, but the upright yellow-green strobili rise up to 8 cm (about 3 inches). The similar rock selaginella (S. rupestris) of North America has smaller leaves, and its branching stems grow on rocks or in sand. Resurrection plant, or resurrection fern (S. lepidophylla), is so named because as an apparently lifeless ball it unrolls when the wet season begins. Spreading club moss (S. kraussiana), from southern Africa, roots readily along its trailing stems of bright green branches. It sometimes is grown as a houseplant, as are S. emmeliana from tropical America, S. martensii from Mexico, S. uncinata from southern China, and S.caulescens from East Asia.

Learn More in these related articles:

in plant (biology)

This division is represented by four or more living genera, with the principal genera being Lycopodium (club mosses), Selaginella (spike mosses), and Isoetes (quillworts). Extant members of Lycophyta occur in both temperate and tropical regions and represent the survivors of a group of vascular plants that was extremely diverse and numerous. As a group, the lycopods were...

In Selaginella, the gametophytes are sexually distinct. The female gametophyte develops within the wall of the megaspore. The archegonia are exposed after the megaspore wall splits, but the gametophyte never escapes completely. After fertilization, the zygote cleaves, and the outer cell produces a long suspensor that pushes the embryo deeply into the tissues of the gametophyte. A foot is...